1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cultivating apparatus which is applied to a carbon dioxide gas (CO2) incubator, a multi-gas incubator or the like to cultivate cultures such as cells, microorganisms, etc. while keeping the inside of the apparatus under an aseptic (germ-free) condition.
2. Description of the Related Art
A periodic sterilizing treatment is needed for a cultivating apparatus because cultures must be cultivated while keeping the temperature of the inside of the cultivating apparatus (chamber) and the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) to constant values and also keeping the inside of the chamber under an aseptic (germ-free) condition.
Further, in the cultivating apparatus as described above, when a cultivating container in which cultures are stocked is fed into or out of the chamber, the outside air invades into the chamber to thereby causing intrusion of the outside air containing various germs such as bacteria, etc. into the chamber. Since the cultivating apparatus is kept under such an environment that not only cultures, but also various germs are liable to grow, these germs may grow and contaminate the cultures.
There is known a conventional cultivating apparatus in which a germs-removing filter such as HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter or the like is disposed to remove germs from gas circulating in the chamber.
Such a conventional cultivating apparatus containing a germs-removing filter has such a risk that once a secondary side of the germs-removing filter is contaminated with germs captured by the filter, the germs-removing/germs sterilizing effects of the filter are remarkably degraded because the germs captured by the germs-removing filter do not die, so that the cultures are contaminated by the germs.
Further, since the pore size of the germs-removing filter is smaller than the size of the germs, a pressure loss at the time when gas passes through the germs-removing filter is large and the germs-removing filter is liable to be clogged with the contaminants.
The present invention has been implemented in view of the foregoing situation, and has an object to provide a cultivating apparatus which easily sterilize germs contained in gas in the apparatus to surely prevent contamination of the germs into cultures, and also suppress increase of the concentration of ozone contained in the gas in the apparatus.
In order to attain the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cultivating apparatus which is designed so that a cultivating container for cultivating cultures can be mounted therein and the inside of the apparatus is hermetically sealed by closing a door of the apparatus to cultivate the cultures, characterized by including a sterilizing lamp for sterilizing the germs contained in the gas in the apparatus.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the cultivating apparatus of the first aspect, the sterilizing lamp is disposed so as to be covered by a shielding plate which forms the inside of the apparatus, the shielding plate serving to shield the cultures so that light from the sterilizing lamp is not directly irradiated to the cultures in the apparatus.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the cultivating apparatus of the second aspect, the shielding plate comprises an inner plate member which forms the inside of the apparatus and also forms a gas circulating passage in cooperation with the main body of the apparatus, and the sterilizing lamp is disposed in the gas circulating passage so as to be covered by the inner plate member.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the cultivating apparatus of the first aspect, humidifying water is provided in the apparatus, and the sterilizing lamp is disposed in the neighborhood of the surface of the humidifying water.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the cultivating apparatus of the fourth aspect is further provided with a reflection member which is disposed so as to cover the sterilizing lamp.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the cultivating apparatus of the first aspect, the sterilizing lamp is disposed in the apparatus so as to irradiate light to the inside of the apparatus.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the cultivating apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, the cultivating container is designed to intercept light irradiated to the inside of the apparatus.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the cultivating apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, the sterilizing lamp is turned on/out interlockingly with an open/close operation of the door.
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the cultivating apparatus of the eight aspect, the sterilizing lamp is turned out when the door is opened, and turned on for a predetermined time after the door is closed.
According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the cultivating apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, the sterilizing lamp repeats the turn-on/turn-out operation.
According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the cultivating apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, the sterilizing lamp is an ultraviolet lamp.
According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the cultivating apparatus of the eleventh aspect, the ultraviolet lamp is designed so that light of 200 nm or less in wavelength is suppressed (cut off).
The cultivating apparatus according to the first or sixth aspect of the present invention has the following effect.
The apparatus is provided with the sterilizing lamp for sterilizing germs contained in gas in the apparatus, and thus the germs contained in the gas can be easily sterilized by light irradiated from the sterilizing lamp, so that the contamination of the germs into cultures can be surely prevented.
The cultivating apparatus according to the second or third aspect of the present invention has the following effect.
The sterilizing lamp is disposed so as to be covered by the shielding plate, and the light irradiated from the sterilizing lamp is intercepted and prevented from being irradiated to the inside of the apparatus by the shielding plate, so that the light irradiated from the sterilizing lamp is not directly irradiated to the cultures being cultivated in the cultivating container disposed in the apparatus. Therefore, the cultures can grow in the cultivating container without being adversely effected.
The cultivating apparatus according to the fourth or fifth aspect of the present invention has the following effect.
The humidifying water is provided in the apparatus, and the sterilizing lamp is disposed in the neighborhood of the surface of the humidifying water. Therefore, not only gas circulating in the apparatus (chamber), but also the humidifying water can be subjected to a sterilizing treatment.
Further, the sterilizing lamp is covered by the reflection member to sterilize the humidifying water in a wide range, and also the light from the sterilizing lamp is prevented from being directly irradiated to the inside of the chamber. Further, evaporation of water on a water plate 38 can be promoted by heat of the turn-on ultraviolet lamp 30.
The cultivating apparatus according to the seventh aspect of the present invention has the following effect.
The cultivating container is designed to intercept the light from the sterilizing lamp, and thus even when the light is irradiated from the sterilizing lamp into the apparatus, the light is prevented from being directly irradiated to the cultures being cultivated in the cultivating container. Therefore, the cultures can grow without being adversely effected.
The cultivating apparatus according to the eighth aspect of the present invention has the following effect.
Since the turn-on/turn-out operation of the sterilizing lamp is carried out interlockingly with the open/close operation of the door, even when the door is opened to cause invasion of germs such as germs, microorganisms, etc. into the apparatus, the sterilizing lamp is turned on after the door is closed, thereby quickly sterilizing the invading germs by the light irradiated from the sterilizing lamp.
The cultivating apparatus according to the ninth aspect of the present invention has the following effect.
The sterilizing lamp is designed to be turned on for a predetermined time after the door is closed, so that the germs invading into the apparatus due to the door opening operation can be quickly sterilized, and also the composition variation of gas and the increase of the temperature of the inside of the apparatus can be suppressed by turning on the sterilizing lamp for a long time. In addition, the lifetime of the sterilizing lamp can be increased and the power consumption can be reduced.
The cultivating apparatus according to the tenth aspect of the present invention has the following effect.
The sterilizing lamp is repetitively and alternately turned on and out under the door-closed state, so that the gas in the apparatus is sterilized and the aseptic (germ-free) condition can be excellently kept in the apparatus.
In addition, the sterilizing lamp is not continuously turned on under the door-closed state, so that the composition variation of the gas and the increase of the temperature in the apparatus can be suppressed. In addition, the lifetime of the sterilizing lamp can be enhanced and the power consumption can be reduced.
The cultivating apparatus according to the eleventh or twelfth aspect of the present invention has the following effect.
The cultivating apparatus is provided with the ultraviolet lamp for sterilizing germs contained in gas in the apparatus, and the germs contained in the gas can be sterilized by ultraviolet rays irradiated from the ultraviolet lamp, so that the germs can be prevented from being contaminated into cultures.
Further, light of 200 nm or less in wavelength is suppressed (cut off) from the ultraviolet rays of the ultraviolet lamp, so that occurrence of ozone due to the irradiation of the ultraviolet rays can be suppressed. As a result, the increase of the concentration of ozone in the gas in the apparatus can be suppressed, and the cultures can grow in the cultivating container mounted in the apparatus without being adversely effected.